There are many such systems, of which one of the best-known is probably Robert's Rules of Order, which is applied in parliamentary debate and corporate meetings in many English-speaking countries. Also well-known is the cross-examination debate applied in both criminal law and civil law. Much innovation in meeting systems has come from objection to these two basic models, notably due to the fact that both reflect an adversarial process.

When used in political or economic contexts, meeting systems are very often associated with a voting system. When used in matchmaking or other sexual/romantic contexts, a meeting system is considered a dating system. These are discussed in other articles. Accordingly, this article will focus on the corporate and organizational uses of a formal meeting system of rules and limits of debate, and of decision.